Marquette opts out of Michigan’s cap on public-employee health care for 2027, and the city will pick up half of workers’ premium increase

MARQUETTE, Mich. — Marquette city employees will not have to carry the full weight of next year’s health insurance increase. The City Commission voted Monday night, Oct. 26, to opt out of Michigan’s Public Act 152 for 2027 and to have the city absorb half of the higher premium costs employees were expected to pay, WLUC-TV reported.

Public Act 152, the state’s Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act, limits how much a public employer such as a city, county or school district may put toward its workers’ medical plans. Opting out frees the city from that limit for one year.

“Our city employees take care of our community and our city residents every single day,” Commissioner Cody Mayer told the station. “I thought it was really important for us as a commission to support the health of both our employees and their families and recognizing that costs for everybody keep continuously going up.”

How the law works. The 2011 law gives local governments three choices, according to a fact sheet from the Michigan Municipal League. Under the default “hard cap,” the employer’s total yearly spending on medical plans can’t top a set dollar amount per covered worker. By a simple majority vote, an employer can instead choose an 80% cap, paying no more than 80% of total plan costs, with employees covering the rest. Or, by a two-thirds vote taken every year, a local government can exempt itself from the law entirely for the following year. Total costs include premiums and any money the employer puts toward co-pays, deductibles or health savings accounts.

The 2027 numbers. The hard caps rise 3% for plan years starting on or after Jan. 1, 2027, tracking the medical-care part of the consumer price index, the Michigan Department of Treasury said in its annual notice. The new limits are $8,180.35 per worker with single coverage, $17,107.66 for a worker plus a spouse or one dependent, and $22,310.11 for family coverage, up from $7,942.09, $16,609.38 and $21,660.30 in 2026.

What it means for taxpayers. Opting out is a choice to spend more local money on benefits than the state’s default limit allows, and the vote has to be repeated each year to stay in effect. TV6’s report did not say how large next year’s premium increase is, how many employees are on the city’s plans, or what splitting the increase will cost the city. The Mitten Daily found no cost figure in the coverage of Monday’s meeting. Residents who want those numbers can ask for them during public comment at the next commission meeting or by contacting City Hall.

The vote comes as residents are already looking at higher city bills next year. The $97 million 2027 budget the commission adopted holds the city millage steady but raises the average water, sewer and trash bill by about $99 a year, as The Mitten Daily reported Oct. 20.

The City Commission meets next on Monday, Nov. 16, at City Hall, 300 W. Baraga Ave. Meetings are open to the public, and agendas are posted on the city’s website.

Sources:
WLUC-TV (TV6), “Marquette City Commission makes decision on public healthcare costs,” Oct. 26, 2026 (vote, 50% share, Mayer quote, next meeting), https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2026/10/27/marquette-city-commission-makes-decision-public-healthcare-costs/
Michigan Department of Treasury, “Public Employer Contributions to Medical Benefit Plans Annual Cost Limitations – Calendar Year 2027,” March 27, 2026, updated March 30, 2026 (2026 and 2027 hard caps, 3% change), https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/-/media/Project/Websites/treasury/ORTA/Economic-Reports-Notices/FY-2027/Notice_03302026_PubEmpMedPlanLimit-Signed-Updated.pdf
Michigan Municipal League, “PA 152—Caps on Medical Benefit Contributions,” October 2026 (hard cap, 80% option, two-thirds annual opt-out, total annual costs), https://mml.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026-FS-PA-152-and-Plus.pdf
City of Marquette, City Commission, https://marquettemi.gov/citycommission/
Photo: Tim Kiser, “Marquette City Hall with 1975 datestone, Marquette, Michigan, 2024-09-24-6347.jpg,” Sept. 24, 2024, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marquette_City_Hall_with_1975_datestone,_Marquette,_Michigan,_2024-09-24-6347.jpg

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Tags: Marquette · City Commission · Public Act 152 · Health Insurance · City Budget · Taxpayers